Cabbage Roses

Sometimes it's the projects that rattle around in your head for years that are the most satisfying. 

And, more importantly, when you give an idea a bit of time to breathe, sometimes the process becomes more streamlined.

I knew that I wanted to do something with the remaining pieces of this upholstery fabric after making the skirt a few years back.  And I really did hope that I could squeeze a jacket out of them.

I had a couple of patterns in mind, but nothing was perfect.  I was also going to have to make some significant alterations, including adding or changing collar pieces. 

That was going to be a lot of work, and I couldn't be sure that I would be completely happy with the outcome.

I forgot about the remaining yardage for a while, until I happened upon a box of forgotten vintage patterns.  Simplicity 2841 was exactly what I was looking for.

It's embarrassing to admit that I had a box of patterns that I forgot about, but maybe not that surprising considering the amount of them that are stashed away.  But the double breasted 1960s silhouette was exactly what I had imagined to pair with the pleated skirt . . . which reminded me of the abandoned upholstery fabric remnants that I had put away.

A resolution that comes up for me again and again is to use the patterns that have been stashed away for an extended period of time instead of whatever shiny new design gets released and distracts me.

I have been slightly better about that, although there is always room for improvement.

Thankfully, a new pattern often reminds me of a stashed fabric, where an older pattern may require a bit of fabric shopping.  Funny how that works out.

For the time being, however, I really do want to work with the items that I have on hand as the sewing room is getting rather crowded.  This project just happened to use vintage fabric and a forgotten vintage pattern.  And it doesn't get much better than that!

Jacket:  Made by me, Simplicity 2841
Skirt:  Made by me, Butterick 6556
Shoes:  Miss L Fire
Necklace:  Estate Sale

A Charlie Brown Christmas

Wishing everyone a belated Happy Christmas!

This dress started to take shape in my mind in December 2024, and now that it is finished, it's safe to say that I am definitely pleased with the results.

It's an easy to wear dress that works great with a pair of festive tights to keep the Winter chill at bay.

As I was constructing the dress, I was slightly concerned about the white background, however, the addition of some rather preposterous trim has given the frock a little bit more color.

And while it would require a person to get fairly close up to see individual Peanuts characters in festive garb, I think that the outfit is extremely Christmas appropriate.

Perhaps, one could say, even slightly ridiculous.  But I will take it!

There are glamorous holiday garments, and I have made a few of them over the years.  This is not one of them.  But sometimes it's nice to lean into the silly side of dress making.

That spool of ball fringe did not let me down.  In fact, I still have a few yards leftover, and I have another year to decide just what to do with it!

As far as the dress goes, I previously stitched up the pattern with a limited amount of yardage.  This time around, I had plenty of fabric to work with, but the shortened hemline suited the print.

I did lengthen the ties, but that's the only significant change from the first version.

It's a classic 1960s silhouette with the added collar and cuff detail that can really make a dress shine.  You really can't beat a vintage Vogue pattern!

Dress: Made by me, Vogue 7186
Shoes: American Duchess "Anna May"
Hair Bow:  Made by me
Earrings:  Etsy
Tights:  Amazon

Peanuts for Christmas

It's time for the annual holiday frock.

I actually decided what I was going to do with this fabric last December, as I was rummaging around in the holiday themed fabric bin.  My first thought when I purchased the novelty print was that it would make a great blouse (mostly because it has a very white background).  But I had a few yards, and I didn't want to end up wasting the yardage.  I was in the process of making this vintage pattern in a vintage upholstery fabric and thought that it would make a very cute and festive holiday dress with that collar and those cuffs!  At the time, I thought that contrasting ruffles might be a nice addition.

The first thing that I stitched together were the cuffs having decided that using the fabric for the ruffles would be a better choice, followed by the collar pieces, mostly because I didn't want to leave all of that gathering of the ruffles till the last minute.

I shortened the first version of the dress due to extremely limited yardage, but I do think it looks more Mod/1960s with the shorter length, so I stuck with that modified silhouette.

But the most exciting part of the project was that I found a use for this red pom-pom trim.  Which is infinitely better than a contrasting ruffle, in my opinion. 

While the trim could be stitched into place with a machine, that seemed like a real pain.  I would probably end up hand basting it into place anyway, so I just went ahead and hand stitched it.  The trim was also attached to the cuffs by hand since the hand stitching worked great on the collar.

I knew that I would be adding the ball fringe to the hemline, I just wasn't entirely sure how many rows would look best.  My initial thought was three rows (odd numbers tend to read better, design-wise) but I thought I would start with two and see how I liked it with the rest of the dress completed.  And that meant installing a center back zipper.

The collar was stitched into place, which is what initially drew me to the pattern.

I also fully lined the dress since it will be worn with a pair of tights and the cotton would 100% stick to a pair of tights.  Also, the white portions of the fabric are rather sheer, and the lining solves that problem, as well.

I essentially created a duplicate dress in rayon lining, leaving the sleeve pieces separate from the body of the dress, dropped that lining into the dress and basted the neck and armholes together.  The sleeve lining was dropped into the sleeve, basted at the top edge and treated as a single layer.

Because the cuff is added at the lower edge of the sleeve, I didn't want the sleeve lining attached to the dress lining and potentially pulling things out of place.  The armscye edge was easily finished with rayon seam binding.

The hem was hand stitched into place, and the skirt lining was trimmed to be about one-half inch shorter than the dress.  I used thread tacks at each seamline to keep the lining from shifting.

In the end, I just went with two rows of trim for the skirt.  Because of the shorter length of this dress, the third row looked just a little too cramped when I pinned it into place.

That also means that the double row matches the cuff embellishments, which I think looks intentional.

I used the distance set by the cuffs to set the distance between the skirt trim rows.

This dress is as silly and festive as I had hoped it would be.

Someone in the office used the adjective "ridiculous" as a descriptor.  This was not meant as an insult (you would have to know the personality to understand) and actually, it's probably a fitting word to describe the dress. 

For me, the dress is a complete success.  I wasn't looking to make something glamorous this year, just a fun dress made with a charming print.  And honestly, I am so happy that I didn't end up going with a blouse pattern.  This is so much better!

A Cropped Swing Coat

This project was not exactly what I was expecting.

I thought that I was getting into a fairly easy sewing pattern, but there were a few issues with the drafting and instructions that were aggravating and I got a bit frustrated.

Giving the jacket a time out was helpful.  And I was able to "fix" the sleeve lining, even if the repair is visible from the interior.  And while the cuffs are fun, they would work a lot better had they been shaped instead of rectangular.

This is one of those experiences that has reminded me to trust my instincts.  Unfortunately, it's not the first time that I have discounted those feelings and been burned.

That being said, I did manage to make two garments out of the fabric yardage (love when that happens!) and the coat is 100% wearable.  In fact, I suspect that I will get a little less annoyed with the "faults" of the darn thing after some time has passed.

I have an old wool coat from Banana Republic with a similar tent shape and a shorter hemline that reads more jacket than coat.  It sees a lot of wear in the colder months because the silhouette fits over my petticoated skirts.

My idea with this coat was to add another more colorful option to the coat closet that would also work over a fuller skirt (the existing ready to wear garment is brown, which may be extremely useful, but not very "fun").

And to that end, I would call this project successful.

So I am inclined to go with that feeling and leave any of the grouchiness about the making of the coat behind.

I often forget about the jacket and coat patterns in my stash because the dresses catch my attention more easily, but I would like to add another more 1940s style coat with a bit more length to my collection sooner rather than later.

I am hoping that the cold weather we have been having may push me in that direction - I even have a suitable wool stashed away . . . but then again, I should really get back to work on that Christmas dress that I have cut out on the sewing room table.

Coat:  Made by me, Charm Patterns "Swing Coat"
Dress:  Made by me, Vogue 8701
Shoes:  American Duchess "Marilyn Pumps"
Earrings:  Gift